December NPD: December NDS sales head record breaking year for US games industry

NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier has said in light of the latest NPD hardware numbers, Nintendo DS has broken a record by being the first console in history to break 3 million unit sales in one month.

"The NDS captures the top-spot for hardware sales this month, marking the first time that any hardware system has sold in excess of 3 million units in any single month," said Frazier.

More records were broken as The NPD Group revealed that the industry as a whole saw a 19 percent increase on 2007, which in itself is an industry first.

"While industry growth has not continued at the blistering pace we saw during the second and third quarters, December's 9% increase over last December brings the year in 19% ahead of last year, and sets a new record for total industry sales," Frazier continued.

However, that wasn't all. December 2008 was the first month in which total industry revenue topped $5 billion dollars.

"This month marks the first time that industry revenue has topped $5B in any single month. In 1997, annual revenues were $5.1B, and now a single month has realized that level of sales," Anita Frazier concluded.

Cigars all round.

By Mike Bowden